Before Benedict 16 was Pope, he was "in charge" of dealing with the pedophile priest horror. He wrote an infamous letter to American bishops telling them, in effect, to keep it quiet. There had been other memos, from popes, before him, concerning hush money payment, silence, etc.

Here is the link for Ratzinger's letter:

http://www.opusbonosacerdotii.org/ad_exsequendam_ecclesiasticam_legem.htm

Why is Cardinal Levada welcoming disaffected Anglicans into the Vatican, instead of making license plates in jail?

See http://www.answers.com/topic/roman-catholic-sex-abuse-cases?method=26&initiator=CANS for an excellent historical review.

And what has it cost the USA RCC to date???
(This week's Delaware Diocese bankruptcy not included)

Date Diocese Payment Recipients Comments

1997 Dallas $31 million [86]

2003, June Louisville $25.7 million 240 [87]

2003, Sept. Boston $85 million 552 [88]

2004, July Portland $53 million 100
Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy hours before two abuse trials were set to begin

2004, Sept. Tucson $22.2 million Filed for bankruptcy, after reaching an agreement with its victims [89]

2004, Dec. Spokane $48 million (at least) Filed for bankruptcy, payment was a part (has to be approved by judge and victims) [90]

2005, Jan. Orange, California $100 million 87 [91][92][93][94][95]

2006, Oct. Davenport, Iowa 15 Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, alleged victims were 15 students, Soens denied allegations [96][97]

2006, Dec. Los Angeles $60 million 45 45 of the over 500 pending cases [98]

2007 Los Angeles $16 million 9 ordered to pay [99]

2007, Jan. Charleston $12 million Bishop Robert J. Baker agreed to pay [100]

2007, July Los Angeles $660 million 508 (over) Archbishop Roger Cardinal Mahony and diocese apologized after settlement [101][102]

2007, Jan. Charleston $12 million [100]

2007, Feb. San Diego $198.1 million 144
Filed for Chapter 11 protection, hours before the first of 144 cases issued [103]

2008, Mar. Fairbanks 130 Filed for bankruptcy, due to monetary concerns over 130 lawsuits made by Alaska natives [104]

Speaking of Roman Church morality....

When we are speaking of the RCC, let us recall that an odd sense of morality applies generally, not merely with respect to gays. Now here is a bit of interesting information re the Roman Church and gays.

Cardinal William Levada, now Vatican doctrinal watchdog, was, in his previous life, Archbishop of San Francisco.
The good Archbishop led 1,000 of his coreligionists on a march against gay marriage.

He also shielded for years one of the worst Catholic clerical pederasty rings in the nation. Not the worst, but among the top, say, ten or so. Any ordinary person would have been nicely settled in jail by now, instead of at the Vatican, holding out the welcome mat for disaffected Anglicans.

"Salesians hold world record for pedophile priests -- guest writer Joey Piscitelli lists their names and connections to William Levada
*****
The Salesians go on trial in LA April 14. Plaintiffs say the Order let pedophile priest Titian Miani have access to children at St. John Bosco High in Bellflower. Piscitelli sued the Salesians in 2006. -- ke

By Joey Piscitelli
The Salesians Clergy of California have shattered the World Record for the most accused child molesters in one area, by a landslide. There is no religious order in the world that we know of that is even remotely close in the number of accused molesters. And the list is growing. At latest count, there are 21 local (California) Salesians accused and/or convicted pedophiles, 19 of them named as child molesters in lawsuits! This tally is so far off the charts.

The following Salesians have been accused of sex crimes in California, including abuse, molestation, rape, sodomy, lewd and lascivious conduct, felony child abuse, copulation, and sexual deviation: Fr. Larry Lorenzoni, Fr. Richard Presenti, Fr. Bernard Dabbenne, Fr. Steve Whelan, Bro. Sal Billante, Bro. Jesse Dominguez, Fr. Jim Miani, Fr. Harold Danielson, Bro. Mark Epperson, Fr. Mario Blanco, Bro. Anthony Juarez, Bro. Ernie Martinez, Fr. Emanual Palayo, Fr. Juan Sanchez, Bro. John Verhart, Fr. Fleming, Fr. Al Mengon, Bro. John Vas, Bro. Ralph Murguia, Bro. Dan Pacheco, and Mr. Sam Vitone.

Cardinal William Levada shielded and covered for so many Salesian accused molesters that victims of the Salesians have nicknamed the Salesian pedophiles -"Levada’s Boys". Still, Levada has shown no shame or remorse, nor has he apologized

nyone today who self-identifies as Catholic and doesn't perceive danger to morality in Western society posed by relativism, secularism, homosexuality, and Hollywood hedonism is either poorly-informed on the issues or a Catholic adrift from traditional moorings and anchors.
_____________________________________

gee, no mention of pederasty?

Who is the Bill Donahue some commentaries mention? The Billy D. being reviewed is Bill Donohue.

According to Wikipedia, the Catholic League has 233,000 paying members. On this blog, Patrick Deneen's essay defending CUA's decision to ban a Catholic LGBTQ club in the interest of "diversity" appears.

It may be that Donohue is not as effective at double-speak as Dineen. But there are many Dineens and many Donohues. Same Catholics, different quality suits.

Anyone today who self-identifies as Catholic and doesn't perceive danger to morality in Western society posed by relativism, secularism, homosexuality, and Hollywood hedonism is either poorly-informed on the issues or a Catholic adrift from traditional moorings and anchors.

"On Faith" using Gehring's column as an apology for publishing the hate-monger Donahue as if Meacham and Quinn we secret agents of Fox News is about as lame as Benedict's apology for pedophile priests.

Thank you to those Catholics who have the courage to denounce Donahue for what he is.

ccnl1 sounds amazingly similar to Bill Donahue.

Bill?

Is that you?

George Santayana wrote: "He who forgets the past is bound to relive it."

Thus, I applaud the Post's continuing exposition of the fact that the same kind of religious virulence which, engendered the First Amendment, two hundred years ago, is still a potent threat.

When you encounter Bill Donahue on television he seems only to be a bitter and angry old man. Usually he is seen only in his reactionary state, red-faced and on the verge of screaming. He seems silly.

Here he has taken some longer period to generate his reactions. He has given us his true feelings, his true opinion, and now we know how depraved this man really is.

I don't blame the Post for having published his tirade against America. I liken it to exploratory surgery - sometimes what you find is far more vile than what you expected.

We should know who our enemies are. Sometimes they are us.

To the editors:

Printing a column by John Gehring is no substitute for the necessary exercise of apologizing for printing the column by Mr. Donohue. Mr. Donohue's column was laden with inaccuracies, paranoia, and hate. The Post needs to admit that and that it made a poor decision to publish such a piece. I, and many of your readers, saw no positive value in the publication. It even served as a call to religious conservatives to wage jihad against gays, atheists, Hollywood, multiculturists, liberals, Catholics for choice, and dog walkers.

The next biggest editorial lapse to printing his column would be to not acknowledge the mistake and apologize for it. Because his column has revealed "Guest Voices" as a possible pulpit for paranoia, bigotry, and hate under the pretense of religion, I think it is time to end the feature or find alternative editorial oversight.

"Why is Bill Donohue angry ... again?"

Because Bill's selling a book! And making noise and acting the victim sells books! Ask Palin!

What? You thought Bill was afraid of secularism? Brahahahahahahahahahaha... He couldn't live his lifestyle without it. He feeds off fear, and when there is little fear, he creates it, otherwise his job has no meaning. What a sorry sorry little man to live off divisiveness and stoking fear in others. And he calls himself a Catholic.

And the man is divorced for crying out loud and in the church that is a sin to God, family members and society as a whole. Look it up: CCC2384. But like most conservatives, they rarely practice what they preach nor consider bound by what they preach, yet expect everyone else to abide. How special!

I really don't think the situation is as dire, from a religious standpoint, as Wild Bill is crying about. But I hope I live long enough to see it.

The Donahue diatribe really did not belong in the WAPO. It made outrageous charges, but did not provide logic to back them up. I feel bad for my Catholic friends whose compassionate views were so misrepresented by this sad rant. I also wonder why more official Catholic leaders have not responded to disavow Donahue's distortions of Catholic doctrine and tradition.

I have read that Donahue is a self-promoter who does not lead a credible organization that speaks for many Catholics. Why then does the Post give him a platform to poison the well of sensible dialogue?

I usually read this forum daily, but I may give it up if it keeps this sensational and irresponsible trend going. If I wanted this type of rant I would subscribe to cable, and watch those crazy "news" channels.

Whether you love him or hate him, Bill Donohue is awlways interesting, divisive, provocative, and--how dare he!--actually takes a stand. A real tonic! John Gehring is about as exciting as milktoast. Sorry, John. Your views are so compromised, nuanced, and neutered--you are the mule to Stevens-Arroyo's jackass. Sterile intellects breed nothing.

An obvious fact Billy D. forgot to mention:

BO rode to the Blood-Red House on the backs of 35+million aborted womb-babies!!!

(The fastest growing USA voting bloc: The 70+ million "Roe vs. Wade mothers and fathers" of aborted womb-babies" whose ranks grow by two million per year.)

i.e. the Immoral Majority now rules the land and will do so in the foreseeable future. How very sad and disturbing!!!

2008 Presidential Popular vote results:

69,456,897 votes for BO 59,934,814 votes for JM

Aside from the ugliness and hatefulness of Donohue's opinions why publish something so factually wrong?

He slams the Democratic party as being anti-Catholic when the Democratic party leadership is full of Catholics. Pelosi is Catholic, much of the top leadership is catholic.

The Booman does the numbers. And he left out Sotomyer.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2009/10/21/95344/254

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Everyone is not entitled to their own facts.

By publishing Donahue's paranoid rant, Quinn and Meacham do a disservice to themselves and to faith based communities. Idiosyncratic religious thought is a hallmark of the paranoid ideas of people with mental illness. In a clinical setting, making the distinction between religious delusions and the religious thought of normal people is simple. There's no course in psychiatric training to teach trainees how to do it. Even the most religious can make that distinction easily with their first case. The religious thought of the mentally ill is focused on persecution, usually personal in nature. Some they are out to get me or people like me. There's almost always a pseudocommunity responsible for the problem, a collection of diverse persecutors working together in communication with each other to create mahem. Unlike the motivations of other human beings, the members of the pseudocommunity are motivated solely to cause destruction and chaos. There's no need to explain the why of the attack, the delusional person just knows that the arch-fiends are up to no good. There's no real reason to go on and on. This distinction is obvious. But if there were to be a course to teach mental health workers how to identify paranoia, Donahue's article would be a good choice for inclusion in the curriculum.

As the comments section after this article make perfectly clear, the question isn't about Bill Donahue or even the content of his article. The question is about Sally Quinn, John Meacham, and the Washington Post. I would doubt that this article is the revelation of their "true colors." That would be a paranoid thought, though it crossed my mind and the minds of others in the comments. Were they influenced by Donahue's title, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights? Did the book publisher have some unreported influence? Is this some kind of misdirected pathological egalitarianism? Or were they just plain sloppy?

Sane readers want to know...

Why is this clown, Donohue, given a forum anywhere, let alone the Washington Post. I see that I was not wrong to remove WaPo from my reading list. I should have known better than to follow a link to this rag.

Cross posted from my comments on Donahue's post:

Some issues are entirely secular or have secular aspects which must be addressed (like abortion). As far as culture, I have always found it abundantly amusing that Fox News is subsized by the Fox entertainment establishment, which has some of the raunchiest entertainment in the marketplace.

As far as sexual morality, it exists not for God but for people, because God loves people and because He is intrensically happy regardless of our moral behavior. When the Catholic hierarchy creates dogma that ignores this fact, the people in the pews are right to ignore it. Secularism is good here, since it prevents violence on the part of religious authorities to enforce their idealistic and wrongheaded views.

Bill Donohue seems to discount that the President of the United States started his career as a Catholic Charities employee and the Vice President and the Speaker of the House are Catholics and Democrats. Six Justices on the Supreme Court are Catholic - the last of which was appointed by the current Democratic President. Of course he has his own version of who is or is not Catholic. He is not entitled to an opinion on this, however.

Finally, it is the liberals in the Church and public life (and the voting booth for Obama) who see economics as the solution to abortion. We are begining to win the day - starting with health care reform and the raising of wages for the least among us. Don't count out our ability to increase the number of liberals once our economic agenda gets done. By the way, it is false to alledge that abortion and ideology are linked - many conservatives resort to abortion when their children end up pregnant, or when they cannot afford yet another child. Indeed, given the economic status of many conservatives, the Democratic economic proposals may not actually help our cause - however we are not so callous as to have political motivations for doing good.

I find it interesting that Mr. Donohue has aligned himself with conservative evanglical Christian groups that have a long history of preaching anti-Catholic hate. He is an embarrassment to the Church and its members and should be marginalized by the Vatican.